Rabies Vaccination, Certificate

• It is the duty of every person keeping a dog or cat over the age of four months to have the animal vaccinated against rabies. All dogs and cats must be re-vaccinated annually. Every veterinarian who vaccinates a dog or cat or other animal hereunder shall issue to the owner or keeper of the animal a numbered vaccination certificate and tag. The certificate shall contain the name and address of the owner or keeper of the animal, a description of the animal vaccinated, the type of vaccine used, the date of vaccination and the expiration date of the period of immunity. The tag shall be worn by the dog or cat at all times when off the premises of the person. The tag shall be serially numbered to correspond with the vaccination certificate number.
• Every person who keeps a vaccinated dog or cat or other animal must exhibit his copy of the certificate of vaccination upon the demand of any person charged with the enforcement of this chapter.
• (No unauthorized person shall remove from any dog or cat any collar, harness or other device to which is attached a registration tag for the current year or to remove the tag therefrom.

Harboring Unvaccinated Animals

• It is unlawful for any person to keep a dog or cat which has not been vaccinated against rabies as provided herein.

Animal Bites, Rabies & Quarantine

Every veterinarian who makes a clinical diagnosis of rabies and every person who suspects rabies in a domestic or wild animal shall immediately report the same to the local health office stating precisely when and where the animal was seen and if possible where it may be found.

• Any person with knowledge that an animal has bitten a human being shall immediately report the incident to the animal shelter and to the local health office. Every physician or other health care professional who treats a person for the bite shall report the treatment to the local health office within 12 hours of the treatment. The treatment must specify the name and precise location of the person bitten.
• Whenever it is shown that any dog or other animal has bitten any person, no owner or person having custody or possession thereof, upon order of the Animal Control Officer, any police officer or health officer, shall fail, refuse or neglect to take or cause to be promptly taken, the animal to a veterinarian to be held in quarantine by the veterinarian for ten days. No dog or animal shall be released from quarantine without the authorization of the veterinarian in charge. The total cost of confinement shall be borne by the owner or if the animal is a stray by the person injured. When the animal under quarantine dies, the Animal Control Department shall immediately send the head of the animal to the Health Department for a pathological examination.
• A person commits an offense if the person fails or refuses to quarantine or present for quarantine or testing, an animal that is suspected of being involved in a bite. A person may be issued a citation for noncompliance or violating this provision. The Animal Control Officer shall be authorized to obtain a search and seizure warrant if there is reason to believe any requirements of this section are violated.
• Should a potential outbreak of rabies within the city be suspected and the danger to the public safety from rabid animals be reasonably imminent, the Animal Control Officer with the concurrence of the Department is hereby authorized to issue a quarantine proclamation, ordering persons owning, keeping, or harboring dogs, cats or other mammals to muzzle the same or confine them for such time as may be specified in such quarantine proclamation. Upon the publication of such proclamation by local newspapers, persons owning or harboring such animals shall confine them to premises unless they are effectively muzzled and under the control of an adult person by leash, cord, chain, or rope. Animals found at large in violation of this subsection may be destroyed by an officer of the city if such officer is unable with reasonable effort to apprehend such animals for impoundment.